Josephine Russo, born December 22, 1915, in Napoleonville was my great-aunt--my grandfather Neno Russo's youngest sister. Her mother, my great grandmother, died in childbirth. Congetta Politz was my great grandmother's aunt, and she raised Josephine in her household.

Our family is related in marriage to the Politz family and are close to their descendants, most of whom now live in the Baton Rouge area. Both families were immigrants from Alia, Sicilia--a village in the Province of Palermo, and my cousin has done extensive research on our family tree. The Politz family being researched by the originator of this thread is probably the same one from Alia, Sicilia.

My great grandfather, Pietro Russo, cam on the ship "Eutella" which arrived in New Orleans October 30, 1890. Many immigrants on that ship came from the same village of Alia. They were recruited to come work on the sugar cane plantation in Napoleonville, and most of the immigrants married there and had their elder children there. The sugar cane mill burned down sometime in the early 1900s, and the families went separate ways--some to the New Orleans area and others closer to Baton Rouge, while some even moved out-of-state to find jobs.

Other names mentioned in this thread which I know of as families from Alia include the Todaro family. My great grandmother, who died during the childbirth of Josephine was Josephine Todaro, who married Pietro Russo in 1896 in Napoleonville. I have been told that my great grandfather Pietro Russo had sent for his sister back in Alia and she was to be wed to one of the men who were friends of the Russo family. I don't know her name, but it is very probable it was the Virgina Russo mentioned in another post in this thread. Virgina is a common name of my ancestors, and many times the Italian name used was "Lena" for those with given names of Virginia.

Ppinelle wrote:Is the birthdate for Pietro 31 Dec. 1853. Parents Giocahino Russo and Rose Ricotta. If so he is the sister of my Great Grandmother, Maria Russo Birthdate 27 Feb 1856 in Alia.

My ancestor Pietro Russo was born in Alia on September 1, 1859. From the research I've seen, Russo was one of the more common names in Sicily, and I believe it still is. As you probably know, the village of Alia was isolated, and probably anyone from Alia around that time period was related in some way, perhaps as cousins. Do you know when your ancestors arrived in the United States and what their port of entry was?